#-even if I intend for them to just be short drabbles/ficlets throughout the days i plan to participate in

[furashuban]

So at first I was struggling to plan out and find inspiration for fics I wanna write for Sketchbook Ship Week, and suddenly I remembered wait, I DO HAVE SOMETHING FUN AND PERFECT I COULD WORK ON FOR SKETCHBOOK SHIP WEEK

It's the perfect time for me to bring this AU back from the dead...

[thefangirlingdead]

Prompt!! Dave (in modern time) not being used to affection in public bc obvs with his original time period. He eventually adjusts, but somebody makes a homophobic remark towards him and Klaus that sends him into a panic. Cue protective Klaus.

OH SHIT. I AM ALL ABOUT THIS. 

Here’s something that I intended to be a little Drabble but ended up being much longer. Let’s just say for the sake of this lil’ ficlet that the apocalypse never happened and Klaus has a little bit more control over his powers after his time in Vietnam. (also I wrote this while kind of day drunk on a Friday afternoon SO DON’T CRITIQUE IT TOO HARD)

“It’s a little different than the disco, huh?” Klaus asks, glancing back in Dave’s direction with a sly, wicked little grin. He’s pulling him by the hand through the vibrant, loud club, his voice barely audible over the thumping of the bass-heavy music, but the glint in his eyes accented in the neon lights.

Dave had been the one to suggest going out a few weeks ago, but Klaus knew that he didn’t anticipate this when he asked to see the types of clubs that Klaus frequented. And to think, this one is a little more tame than some of his other regular stomping grounds. This club in particular is actually rather small, the majority of the room taken up by a spacious dance floor and long bar that stretches from one end to the other. There’s a small balcony that overlooks the crowd, but Klaus rarely hangs up there. No, he’d rather be on the dance floor, letting loose, losing himself in the music, dancing with someone special. Someone like -

Dave. Dave, who pauses as Klaus drags him through the club, hesitating long enough that is catches Klaus’ attention and causes him to turn, shooting him a concerned gaze, head cocked just slightly to the side.

“You good?” he asks, just to make sure. Sometimes, the loud noises are rough. Sometimes, crowds can be too much. Even a few months past Vietnam, even a few months since Klaus brought Dave back to 2019, there are still some scars that run too deep, some battle wounds that still need healing. He gets it, because he feels them too.

So when Dave pauses, pulling Klaus’ arm taut, Klaus is quick to check in with him, to make sure he’s okay.

“Yeah,” Dave assures with a nod, but Klaus doesn’t miss that it seems like he’s trying to convince himself. “Yeah I’m good, I just - I’m not used to… this.” Dave motions between himself and Klaus, then, at the junction of their hands, and Klaus quickly understands. In return, he offers Dave a gentle smile, taking a few steps toward him to close the gap between their bodies and get close enough to speak over the thumping music.

“Hey…” he murmurs gently, and for a split second, they’re the only two people in the club. Dave is the only person who matters, and Klaus is determined to make him feel comfortable. Sure, Klaus wants to share this part of his life with Dave, but he also wants to make sure Dave has fun. If he isn’t enjoying this, they can leave. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” he assures, “If you’d rather go somewhere else, do something a little more low-key, that’s cool too.”

“No,” Dave insists with a shake of his head, offering Klaus a tight, reassuring smile, even as Klaus laces their fingers together, one hand reaching up to brush a stray curl from his forehead. “No, I want to - I mean, you wanted to come here and -”

“And it doesn’t matter what I want,” Klaus insists, “We’re not staying here if you’re not comfortable.”

Dave swallows, but he doesn’t balk away from Klaus’ intimate touch, nor his searching eyes. “No I’m - it’s just… an adjustment, is all,” he says at last, “I know you keep saying things are different now, but it’s just hard to believe sometimes, you know?”

“I know,” Klaus agrees. His hand drifts, thumb brushing Dave’s cheek, fingers tickling the short hairs at the back of his neck. “And I know I seem to have a pretty blasé attitude about everything, but I promise, we’re safe here.”

Then, with a smirk, Klaus adds, “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen people practically fucking on this dance floor before. We’ll be okay. I promise.”

And finally, Dave cracks a smile, rolling his eyes at Klaus’ words. “Well, I’m not trying to -”

“Hey, how about we just see where the night takes us…” Klaus teases with a wink. “Do you want to get a drink?”

And that’s how Klaus and Dave end up about three drinks deep, dancing close together among a swirling mass of bodies on the dance floor to some song that Klaus loves and Dave has certainly never heard before. It takes a little bit for him to fully come out of his shell, but once he does, he seems like he’s in his element, hands on Klaus’ hips, lips just brushing his on the dance floor. That’s how Klaus ends up winding his arms around Dave’s shoulders, leaning forward to press a passionate kiss to his lips and that’s how, ten minutes later, Klaus ends up pressed against the wall in the hallway near the bathrooms, arms pinned above his head, Dave hard against him, uncaring of whoever might see.

“Now that’s more like it,” Klaus murmurs in between kisses, a smirk spread across his face before their lips crash together again and god, when he first met Dave, the sweet little momma’s boy, the same man who actually asked before kissing him for the first time, he never thought he’d find himself here, pinned up against the wall of a club, getting the life kissed out of him.  But here they are, Dave easily pressing both of his wrists together against the wall with one hand, the other sturdy on his chest, Klaus struggling to keep his composure, struggling not to drag Dave into the bathroom and have his way with him.

They’ve come a long way since they first met, since they first realized that the feeling was mutual, and Klaus wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s already a miracle that Dave agreed to take the leap and come here with him, that they managed to survive this long, so Klaus can’t help the way he kisses Dave back as if he’ll disappear any second, as if he’s surprised that he’s still holding onto him, forgetting the world around them for a few moments and just focusing on Dave.

So it’s no surprise that Klaus doesn’t notice the group of men approaching them, that he doesn’t register their jeers and hateful slurs until they’re a little too close for comfort. And then, just as fast as he’s there, Dave is gone. With his attention focused on Dave - his lips, his hands, his body - Klaus doesn’t notice when some stranger purposefully shoulder-checks him as they come out of the bathroom. He doesn’t notice until they’re shoving Dave backwards and Klaus hears the end of some insult hurled at him -

“…fucking faggot.”

“Sorry -” Dave starts to mutter, but not before Klaus is moving, acting on instinct, his emotions taking over.

Klaus takes a step in front of Dave, putting his arm out as if to stop him from moving. “No, don’t be sorry,” he bites, loud enough for the stranger to hear him over the loud thumping of the club’s music, “This asshole should be sorry!”

And the stranger, the guy who Klaus didn’t even see because he’d been too busy kissing Dave, turns on his heel, eyes narrowed in Klaus’ direction, a smirk spread across his ugly fucking face.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?”

The man (and his two friends) steps forward, but just as he does, Klaus moves on instinct, acting before he thinks. He reaches a hand out, clenching it into a fist and the stranger freezes in place.

“I said,” Klaus growls, “That you should be sorry.”

The man’s expression quickly changes from anger to horror, his features transforming in the blink of an eye. And while Klaus despises using his powers like this - he only did it once or twice in Vietnam and it was awful - he doesn’t even hesitate when it comes to Dave.

“What are you doing to me, you freak?” The stranger cries, his voice terrified, strained. He tries to move, but Klaus keep him in place.

“You might want to watch what you’re saying,” Klaus mutters, voice barely audible over the sound of the music, but he knows that the man hears him. He knows, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the stranger is falling to his knees, unable to control his own body.

And god, Klaus hates his powers sometimes, but right now, it feels right. It feels just. Because shit, it’s 2019, and this idiot shouldn’t be talking to him and Dave like that, because this asshole deserves to learn a lesson.

But then, Dave’s voice is cutting through the noise in Klaus’ head, and the moment is broken.

“Klaus…” Dave sounds worried, he sounds upset, and the sound of his name on his lover’s lips breaks his concentration, it has his concentration breaking and the stranger scrambling to his feet and scurrying away without another word.

It isn’t until he’s gone that Klaus registers the gentle hand on his arm, the soft voice in his ear. “Klaus, I’m right here, come back to me -”

And Klaus shakes himself out of it, coming back down into his body, back to earth.

“Fuck,” Klaus mutters, shaking his head before he turns back to Dave, “Sorry, I just got carried away and -”

He stops speaking, however, when he spies the wide-eyed look on Dave’s face, just on the verge of panic, and -

“Oh shit,” Klaus gasps, reaching forward to touch Dave gently, pulling him close. He knows that look, because he’s seen it on himself before, has seen it in the mirror, just on the verge of a breakdown, and god, he hates seeing it on Dave, but he’s not surprised.

Without thinking, Klaus grabs Dave by the arm and pulls, dragging him into the nearby bathroom, away from the gaze of onlookers and away from the loud music pulsing throughout the club. And shit, Klaus doesn’t have any excperience in dealing with something like this - hell, he’s not even quite sure how to deal with it on his own - but he assumes that Dave needs a quiet space, that he doesn’t need to chaos of the club or the audience of strangers. If it were Klaus, he’d want quiet, so he tries to find that for Dave, secluded in the bathroom, alone, even if just for a few moments.

Whenever Klaus has dealt with the panic that he currently sees in Dave’s eyes himself, he’s only ever seen it in the mirror, staring right back at him. He’s never seen it on someone else, and honestly, it’s kind of terrifying. He doesn’t know what to do, but he tries to stay level headed for Dave.

He doesn’t know quite how to comfort someone, so Klaus lets them both slump to the ground, his hands hovering just over Dave’s arms, unsure of what to do. When he reaches out to touch, though, Dave jerks back, as if Klaus’ touch burns, and Klaus suddenly understands. Or, well, he thinks he does.

“Shit. Shit, shit,” Klaus mutters, backing up slightly where he’s crouched on the ground, hands raised in a placating gesture, as if to say he means no harm, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, back there. I just - they can’t just talk to you like that and -”

“No,” Dave croaks out at last, shaking his head. His voice is breathless, barely there, just on the verge of a panic attack, but it sounds like a scream to Klaus’ ears. He reaches forward, gripping Klaus’ wrist before he can pull away fully, stopping him in place, “No, Klaus. That’s not it. I just - it reminded me of back… before we met, I was out with a guy once and - I - we -”

Oh. Oh.

“Ooooh. Shit,” Klaus mutters, sitting back on his heels at the realization of what Dave’s words imply.

He’s been through this before. He thought he was safe, and the same fucking thing happened.

Klaus isn’t dense. He knows what Dave means, and it’s insane, seeing someone like Dave, such a strong person, such an adept fighter, a fucking soldier reduced to this because of some shitty, homophobic comments from some stranger, because of something that happened to him in the past. Because of that fucking world, and close-minded assholes and the 60’s… and shit, Klaus had been the one to convince him that he was safe here, and look what happened.

“Fuck,” Klaus mutters again, “I’m sorry, Dave. I shouldn’t have pushed you into this, I -”

But Dave is quick to interrupt Klaus before he can finish his thought. “No,” he repeats, “It’s not you. Shit, Klaus, it’s not you. It’s just… a lot, is all. I know things are different now, but it’s still hard, hearing that and -”

And Klaus doesn’t let Dave finish before he’s pulling him close, embracing Dave on the floor in some shitty club bathroom, and fuck anyone who can see them like this, open and vulnerable and helplessly in love.